


Little Lies

by MachineryField



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles
Genre: Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:42:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24899377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MachineryField/pseuds/MachineryField
Summary: “Of course, not only was he… one of the Faces, but he was the one to shield us from the fall at Agniratha.” She frowned. “Did Sharla never tell you?”Juju went silent, his face paling. “She told me they never found him…”
Relationships: Hinted Vanea/Sharla, Past Sharla/Gadolt
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	Little Lies

**Author's Note:**

> Blows kiss to Jooj for the idea

“Juju, what are you doing?” Vanea came to sit next to the boy outside of Colony 6. “Is this some sort of Homs game?”

“No. Just visiting Gadolt’s favorite spot.” Juju looked at his hands, frowning. “I… I still miss him sometimes.”

“I see.” She closed her eyes. “It’s horrible what happened to him, he gave the impression of being a noble man.”

“What do you mean, Vanea?” Juju furrowed his brow as she opened her eyes. “Did you see him?”

“Of course, not only was he… one of the Faces, but he was the one to shield us from the fall at Agniratha.” She frowned. “Did Sharla never tell you?”

Juju went silent, his face paling. “She told me they never found him…”

“Oh. Oh dear.” Vanea covered her mouth with a hand, realizing she had said too much. “Juju, I--”

“I… I should go.” His voice cracked as he stood up, clearly trying to hold in tears. “Sorry, Vanea.”

And with that, he ran off, leaving the Machina to watch him go. She had been so stupid saying anything… She should have thought before speaking, but she had wanted to give him some peace of mind. If only she had realized…

She looked out towards where Juju had been staring, a frown on her face. “I’m quite sorry, Gadolt. I suppose I just made things harder for the ones you loved the most…”

\--

“Juju!” Sharla jumped when her younger brother walked in. “I thought you were going to be out today.”

He looked at her and she realized there were tears in the corner of his eyes. “Why did you lie?”

“Lie?” She furrowed her brow. “Juju, what do you mean?”

“You lied about Gadolt! You said you never found him, but you did! You found him and he died protecting you!” His voice raised, the tears falling. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Her heart squeezed as she stood, making his way over to him. “Juju, who told you that?”

“Vanea did! She sat with me and told me how he died! She told me what you should have!” He wiped angrily at the tears falling. “You still treat me like a little kid, like I can’t know this stuff! But I watched and lost people, too! Gadolt was important to me, too!”

“Juju, I just… I didn’t want to hurt you anymore…” She placed her hands on his shoulders, only for him to throw them off and take a step back.

“Well, finding out my sister lied to me hurts worse than any truth could have!” And with that, he ran out the door, Sharla feeling helpless to stop him.

\--

“Why did you tell him?” Sharla was standing behind Vanea now, but she wouldn’t turn to face her. “Why did you tell him about Gadolt?”

“I hadn’t realized you lied to him.” She looked at her hands, resting in her lap. “I… apologize.”

“He ran off.” Sharla’s voice was tight. “And I don’t know where he went and I don’t know how to fix this.”

“Sharla…”

“Why didn’t I just tell him? Why was I so afraid? I’m so stupid!”

“Sharla…”

“I don’t know what to do!”

“Sharla!” Vanea finally turned to face her, standing up. “I will find Juju, fix this. I put you in this mess and I will help you get out.”

“Vanea…” Her eyes widened, and a tear fell. “I’m sorry, I’m being so pathetic… I should be a better sister.”

Vanea wiped the tear away with a finger. “Don’t cry anymore, please. I hate to see you cry…”

Sharla sniffled, but her tears stopped. “...I’ll try not to, but please, Vanea… Bring Juju home safe.”

\--

“There you are, Juju.” Vanea found the boy hiding under a pass on the Leg. “We’re all worried, you know. Especially Sharla.”

“Sharla isn’t worried. She’s just upset I found out she lied.” Juju shook his head, but Vanea wasn’t about to relent. “Tell her I’m fine, but I don’t want to talk to her.”

“Juju, I understand that you’re upset… she was just trying to not hurt you, as misguided as that was.”

“What do you know about that?” He frowned at her. “It’s not like you know what it’s like, being lied to!”

She moved to sit next to him, pulling her knees up to her chin. “But I do, Egil used to lie to me all the time. To protect me, he would say.”

“Egil… was your big brother, right?” Juju looked at her. “Did he lie a lot?”

“Yes, but his biggest lie was when he said he was fine, after everything that happened…” She closed her eyes. “It hurt, because by the time I realized it was a lie, it was too late.”

“Too late…?”

“Too late to fix things.” She held back tears as she looked at Juju. “But you and Sharla… you can still fix this. There’s still a chance for you to understand each other.”

“Vanea…” He looked at his knees for a moment and she felt he wasn’t going to say anything else. “...I wanna go back, will you walk me back?”

She gave him a small smile. “Of course, Juju.”

\--

“Juju, I’m so sorry…” Sharla hugged Juju, stroking his hair. “I should have told you…”

“I’m sorry, too…” Juju clung to her, sniffling. “I should’ve heard you out.”

Vanea smiled, watching the siblings make up. She was glad she could do something to help, even if she had started the problem without meaning to… It made her feel better about all of this, like there was meaning to her slip-up.

“Vanea…” Sharla looked at her with a huff. “What are you doing just standing there? Get over here!”

“Huh?” She blinked a few times, hand against her chest. “Do you need something?”

“You need to be part of the hug, too!” Juju spoke up. “No need to be shy, come on!”

Vanea was speechless, though she did feel some tears at the edge of her eyes. “Are you sure? I mean…”

“Of course we are! Oh, let’s just…” Sharla moved herself and Juju over to the Machina, pulling her into the hug. “There, now it’s perfect.”

Vanea felt a bit choked up, but she smiled. “Yes, perfect.”


End file.
